Quinn Mathews struck out 16 Texas hitters in a complete-game effort Sunday night to help No. 6 Stanford stave off elimination and keep its College World Series hopes alive in an 8-3 victory over Texas.

Mathews was remarkable in what seemed like it would be his final appearance at Sunken Diamond. The senior lefty threw 156 pitches, allowing three runs on eight hits and just one walk to go with what was a career-best 16 strikeouts. He became the first Stanford pitcher since 1999 to strike out 16 batters in a single game.

Stanford lost Game 1 of the Super Regional series against Texas in deflating fashion. After leading for most of the game and throwing its top pitchers in an attempt to close out a win, the Cardinal gave up five walks and an error in the top of the ninth, allowing Texas to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 7-5 lead and eventual win.

On Sunday, Mathews repeatedly shrugged off efforts to get him out of the game and repeatedly delivered.

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the ninth, Texas connected on a Mathews pitch for a double and drew Stanford’s pitching coach, Thomas Eager, to the mound for a meeting. Mathews convinced Eager he still had the juice to end the game.

“He goes, ‘Let’s have an adult conversation,'” Mathews recalled in the postgame interview on the field. “I said, ‘I’m getting this kid out.’ They gave me the leeway there. … I knew I wanted the rock and to give the bullpen a shot (on Monday).”

He retired the next batter he faced.

And got Stanford within a win of Omaha.

First pitch for Game 3 is set for 5 p.m. PT on ESPN.